History Trivia - English Cardinal Thomas Wolsey arrested

November 4, 1333 The River Arno flooding caused massive damage in Florence

 as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani.

1520 - Christian II crowned King of Sweden.  Already king of Denmark and Norway, Christian conquered Sweden as well.  But the subsequent massacre of his opponents led to a Swedish war of liberation, which was achieved a mere three years later.

1529 English Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested.  Wolsey's failure to secure the annulment for Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon is widely perceived to have directly caused his downfall and arrest.

History Trivia - Michelangelo's David unveiled in Florence.

Sept 8

1011 St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, was captured by marauding Danes, held prisoner for months, and eventually murdered. He refused to allow himself to be ransomed because the money would have had to be raised by taxing the people. After his death he was venerated as a martyr, and the parish church of Greenwich is dedicated to him. 

1504 Michelangelo's David was unveiled in Florence.

History Trivia - temple of Castor and Pollux, the Heavenly Twins, dedicated

January 27

484 BC, the temple of Castor and Pollux, the Heavenly Twins, was dedicated.

98 Trajan became Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.

1186 Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, married Constance of Sicily.

1302 Dante became a Florentine political exile because of his political activities that included the banishment of several rivals. 

1606 Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators began, ending with their execution on January 31.

History Trivia - Queen Catherine Howard confined in London Tower.

November 9

694 Egica, a King of the Visigoths of Hispania, accused the Jews of aiding Muslims, and sentenced all Jews to slavery.

Perkin Warbeck

 1492 Peace of Etaples (northern France) between Henry VII and Charles VIII. The treaty served to end an English invasion of France launched in order to stop France's support for the pretender Perkin Warbeck. By this treaty, France agreed to expel Warbeck and pay England an indemnity of £159,000. The treaty was ratified in December

1494 The de' Medici family were expelled from Florence.

Traitor's Gate

1541 Queen Catherine Howard was confined in London Tower.

History Trivia - St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, captured by marauding Danes

Sept 8

 1011 St. Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, was captured by marauding Danes, held prisoner for months, and eventually murdered. He refused to allow himself to be ransomed because the money would have had to be raised by taxing the people. After his death he was venerated as a martyr, and the parish church of Greenwich is dedicated to him.

1157 Richard the Lion-Hearted, King of England, was born.

1504 Michelangelo's David was unveiled in Florence.

History Trivia - Julius Caesar and his Roman Legions invade Great Britain

August 26

 55 BC Julius Caesar and his Roman Legions invaded Great Britain.

1017 Turks defeated the Byzantine army under Emperor Romanus IV at Manikert, Eastern Turkey. 

 1429 Joan of Arc made a triumphant entry into Paris.

1466 A conspiracy against Piero di Cosimo de' Medici in Florence, led by Luca Pitti, was discovered.

1498 Michelangelo was commissioned to carve the Pietà.

History Trivia - Great fire of Rome while Emperor Nero allegedly fiddles

July 18

390 BC Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia – a Roman army was defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.

64 Great fire of Rome: a fire started in the merchant area of Rome near Circus Maximus and much of the city was destroyed while Emperor Nero allegedly fiddled.

1290 King Edward I of England issued the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England.

 1334 The bishop of Florence blessed the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.

1389 Kingdom of France and Kingdom of England agreed to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13 year peace; the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years War.

History Trivia - Cardinal Richelieu of France created the table knife.

May 13

1497 Pope Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) excommunicated Girolamo Savonarola (Italian Dominican friar and an influential contributor to the politics of Florence. He vehemently preached against the moral corruption of much of the clergy at the time, and his main opponent was Rodrigo Borgia).

1515 Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk were officially married at Greenwich.

1568 Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, were defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.

1637 Cardinal Richelieu of France created the table knife.

History Trivia - Cardinal Wolsey arrested

November 4

1333 The River Arno flooding caused massive damage in Florence as recorded by the Florentine chronicler Giovanni Villani.

1429 Joan of Arc liberated Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.

1501 Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) met Arthur Tudor, Henry VIII's older brother – they would later marry.

1520 Christian II Crowned King of Sweden. Already king of Denmark and Norway, Christian conquered Sweden as well. But the subsequent massacre of his opponents led to a Swedish war of liberation, which was achieved a mere three years later.

1529 English Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was arrested. Wolsey's failure to secure the annulment for Henry VIII from Catherine of Aragon is widely perceived to have directly caused his downfall and arrest.